


ANMTM

by Bouncy_cat



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, America's Next Top Model AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-01 19:25:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2784872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bouncy_cat/pseuds/Bouncy_cat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Derek returns to Beacon Hills after college he gets a job at the library.<br/>It's supposed to be temporary, just until he finds something better, more challenging. But days turn into weeks, turn into months and he's kind of happy where he is. </p><p>He has his routine and his small apartment and his family. He's doing okay.</p><p>His sisters don't agree and decide to spice up his life a little...by making him audition for America's Next Top Model.</p><p>A.k.a the America's next top model AU nobody has been waiting for, with Stiles Stilinski as one of the judges.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Hey everybody, listen up. We have an announcement to make!" Laura says loudly, trying to be heard over the noise of their mom’s birthday party. 

Derek tries to step away from her and fade into the background again, but she and Cora have a death-grip on his arms.

The whole family turns to look at them expectantly.

"Derek has gotten a call-back to audition for America’s Next Top Model!" Cora announces with a cocky grin.

"What-" He has literally no clue what they’re talking about. "What audi-"

He doesn’t even get the chance to get a full sentence out before his mother pulls him into a crushing hug. “Oh my god, honey, I’m so proud of you! You’re going to be great, I just know it. This is such a wonderful opportunity!”

"But-" Derek tries.

"I know you love your job at the library, but there is so much more to see in the world and this could take you to all kinds of wonderful places."

She sounds so damned happy that his protest gets stuck in his throat.

"Do you want to see his audition tape?" Laura asks.

"Of course!" His grandma practically roars, and she’s quickly followed by a chorus of agreement from the entire family. 

Derek gives his sisters a glare. “Yes…show them  _my_  audition tape, will you?”

Cora smiles innocently and grabs her tablet. With a few taps a movie starts playing. 

It starts with Derek playing with his niece, and then it shifts smoothly to him sitting on the porch, gently blowing into a cup of hot chocolate. He remembers that evening, and he remembers Cora dicking around with the camera again, but she’s always making family home-videos so he didn’t think anything of it.

Laura’s voice starts up, edited onto the movie and starts telling the viewer about Derek Hale. Lie after lie about how he’s always wanted to be a model, how he wants to move on from his simple job at the library…how this might be his last chance because he’s 26 already.  There’s a short scene where Derek is stalking through the supermarket. He remembers that day as well. He was grocery shopping with Laura and when they were at the check-out she sent him back into the store two times to get stuff she’d ‘forgotten’. The last scene is when he’s exercising. He’s doing pull-ups. Shirtless.

Derek feels a blush rise to his face when the camera zooms in on his chest. 

Behind him his aunt wolf-whistles.

After the little screen fades to black his mom pats his shoulder. “That was great honey. You stayed very true to yourself. But why did you let Laura do all the talking?”

"I- It was Cora and Laura’s idea."

Laura wraps an arm around his shoulders. “Ah mom, you know how he gets when we put him in front of the camera.”

"Well, he’ll have to get over that pretty quickly, won’t he?" Peter says with a smirk. 

"He’ll do fine." Cora says determinedly and Derek would be pleased with her support if she hadn’t pretty much forced him to participate in a stupid modelling contest.

Because how can he say no  _now_? His whole family is happy for him, his mom is proud, and relieved probably, that he’s finally doing something to move on from his minimum wage job at the Beacon Hills library.

"I’ll try," he says, as much to himself as to his family, and Cora and Laura practically jump him.  

————————————

Later that evening his dad sits down next to him on the porch. “You know you don’t have to do it, right?”

"Don’t I?"

"They mean well, but it’s your life."

Derek shrugs. “It’s probably time I move on from Beacon Hills library…”

"If you want to. But don’t let them push you if you’re happy right where you are."

The problem is…Derek  _is_  pretty happy. He’s also a little stuck. The job at the library was supposed to be temporary, just until he found something a little more challenging. He’s not sure when he stopped looking through the job-listings. When he settled into this calm, predictable,  _easy_  live. 

He’s not completely new to modelling, did some cheap local brand catalog work a couple of years ago. Maybe this will be good for him. Shake his life up a little and maybe, in the process, he’ll find out what he actually wants to do with his life.

_\-------------------_

_If selected as participant, you must be willing to live in a house or loft located at a location and in a city as determined by Producers (the “house”) for approximately one and a half months with approximately nine to fourteen other strangers, where you will have little or no privacy.'_

Derek frowns at his screen. Laura sent him the eligibility requirements for participants of America’s Next Male Top Model and it’s only now really sinking in that there’s a possibility he might actually end up on the show. 

He scrolls down a little further. 

‘ _The house is extensively outfitted with video and audio recording devices which will record, broadcast and exhibit your actions and voice at all times, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in every room of the house as well as any and all locations and settings outside of the house for the duration of your participation in the Series. You will be observed at all times by the Producers as well as the general public watching on television and possibly the Internet.’_

"Forget it."

”Awww come on Derek,” Cora says from behind him, “it sounds worse than it is.” 

"24 hours a day, seven fucking days a week!"

"It’s not that bad."

"How would you know?"

"I worked with Mikaila remember? She made it all the way to third place and she told me you forget all about the camera’s after a while. And it’s only six weeks. Who knows, you might even make some friends in the house."

Sometimes Derek forgets how successful his little sister is in her chosen profession. She’s only 25 and already she’s worked with some pretty big names.  It’s embarrassing. Laura is a lawyer. Cora is a successful photographer, Marcus is a pediatrician…

Derek is the only underachiever in his entire family. Sure he managed to get a college degree, but what has he done with it? Pretty much nothing.

Maybe it’s time to step up. He prints out the waiver he was sent, preventing him from talking to the press and taking pictures during the audition process and anything after that, if he makes it that far, and he signs it. Then he turns around and pokes Cora’s side. “Help me make up reasons for why I want to be a model.”

——————————

The face to face interview with the producers is nerve-wracking. When it’s over he’s not even sure what questions they asked and how he responded. It’s a bit of a blur honestly, and he’s pretty sure this is as far as he’s going to get.

Three weeks later he gets the call that he’ll be allowed to participate in the actual audition show. He’s going to be on TV.

Fuck his life.

\----------------

Derek’s family is ridiculously happy for him even though he reminds them a hundred times that it’s still just an audition, that there’s a very good chance he won’t even make it into ‘the house’. 

Annoyingly, the more optimistic they get, the more pressure he feels and the more cranky he gets. He usually eats with his family at least two nights a week, but the last week and a half before he’s supposed to travel to LA he makes up excuses and stays by himself in his little apartment.

Of course there’s no getting out of the big goodbye dinner party his mom is organizing. The whole family, except maybe Peter, is convinced that they won’t see him at all for six or seven weeks. Personally he thinks he won’t last longer than a day or two. 

"Cheer up," Laura whispers to him when he’s listlessly poking the salmon on his plate, "just think of it as an adventure. It’s not like you have your heart set on a modelling career so who cares if you don’t get through the first round?" 

His eyes dart to his mom and Laura notices, of course.

"She’s been worried about you. You could have participated in a fishing competition and she would have been just as happy."

Derek frowns down at his plate. “There’s no reason to be worried. Just because I’m not as ambitious as the rest of the family, doesn’t mean there something wrong with me.”

"Derek-"

"Quit it, Laura. Not now, okay. I’ve got enough to deal with."

Laura backs off after that, and the rest of the family seems to understand he doesn’t want to talk about the competition. Once the focus is off of him, Derek is finally able to relax and enjoy the evening. 

At the end of the party there are countless hugs and everyone wishes him good luck.  

He’ll need it.

His mom pulls him into an extra long hug and makes him promise to call when he arrives, and any chance he gets after that. 

"It’s 6 weeks mom, at the most." Worst case scenario, or best case depending on how you look at it. "I’ll be back in no time."

"I know honey. And you’ll have a great time, I’m sure of it. I love you."

"Love you too."

She gives him one last squeeze before reluctantly letting him go. “Stay in touch,” she says urgently. 

"I will."

His mom and dad wave at him until Derek is completely out of sight.  _Stay in touch._  When he came home from college, he went from hardly seeing his family at all, and to be honest, hardly  _talking_  to them at all, to seeing them several times a week and talking to them almost daily. His mom’s insistence that he keep in touch should be redundant. And he feels a stab a guilt for the fact that she obviously feels she needs to remind him not to shut them out.

But he’s never going to let it get that far ever again.

\--------------------

There are 23 other contestants and Derek tries to remember their names but he’s no good at it, so in his head they end up with names as ‘curly’, ‘dreadlocks’ and ‘bald guy’.

Maybe it’ll be easier when they’re down to 12. And maybe he’ll be going home anyway so he won’t have to learn any of their names. Right now, he’s pretty sure that’s where this is heading because they’re all ridiculously good-looking. And they look  _young,_ even when they’re not. There’s this one guy who is 27 and he could seriously pass for 17.

It’s a little frustrating. Derek knows he looks good, but he also knows people are more likely to think he’s older than he is, than to think he’s younger. The scruffy face doesn’t help, but Cora told him not to shave. In her words ‘if they want you to shave they’ll tell you’. 

"Alright, line up." One of the assistants orders.

It’s been like that for most of the day, 'stand here', 'pose there', 'sign this'. They had to sit through an informative speech that was 10% encouragement and information, 90% warnings about stuff they’re not allowed to do. 

They’re not allowed to take pictures with their phones. They’re not allowed to talk about the audition process to anyone from ‘the outside’, they’re not allowed to disclose the location of ‘the house’ and they ARE NOT ALLOWED to talk to the press. Derek's not sure why they feel the need to repeat it constantly. Didn't they all sign a freaking waiver?

Once they’re lined up they are called to a simple set one by one and told to look straight at the camera for a head shot and strike a pose for a full length shot.

It’s just Derek’s luck that he ends up first in line and doesn’t even have the chance to see the other guys pose. He’s really not sure what they expect of him. The little bit of modelling he did when he was younger didn’t really prepare him for any actual fashion modelling.  All he ever had to do was stand there and look relaxed. So that’s what he falls back on. The photographer takes a a couple of shots, mumbles something vaguely encouraging and before Derek knows it, he’s done.  

"Go wait over there" the assistant tells him, waving to the other side of the room, and when Derek walks past the line he sees one of the other contestants smirk at him. It’s the only guy whose name he remembers. Jackson.  Because it’s similar to  _Jackass_. 

Makes it all the more frustrating that the guy seems to know exactly what he’s doing.  He’s posing like he’s been doing it all his life, the photographer seems ecstatic and Derek has to admit that there are probably some magazine worthy pictures being taken. 

Slowly, more and more guys join Derek in his corner of the room but it’s still more than an hour before every guy has had his turn, and then suddenly…there’s Tyra Banks.

* * *

 

I'm on tumblr [here](http://panda-pounce.tumblr.com/).


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, hello there boys"

Somehow Derek thought Tyra would look less like a model, in real live. She doesn’t. She looks older than she once did, but still a lot younger than her age and she’s beautiful.

He mumbles a ‘hi’ that gets lost in the cheers and whistles of the rest of the group. It’s really weird to be standing just a couple of feet away from someone who is famous the world over. He’s never met a celebrity before.

Camera-men and -women are circling all of them and Derek tries to do as he’s been told earlier and not look directly at one of the camera’s.

"Guys, I’m so excited about this ‘men only’ cycle. We’ve got an amazing panel of judges this year. Yours truly of course," she says with a wink, "Miss J. Alexander has come back to join us, we have up and coming model Mariska Jansen, and famous fashion photographer Stiles Stilinski."

Derek remembers J. Alexander from earlier cycles when Cora made him watch the show with her, but he doesn’t know the other two. He wishes the producers would have revealed the names of this cycle’s judges before the auditions began, that way he could have at least googled them.

"We also have some fabulous prizes, including a spread in GQ magazine, a contract with Ford models, and a 50.000,- dollar campaign with Calvin Klein…But first you’re going to have to prove that  _you_  have what it takes to become America’s Next _Male_ Top Model! I’ll see you guys at the interviews!”

And with that, in less than two minutes, she’s gone again. And the waiting game starts. They’re herded into a room that has a bunch of crappy chairs and a large table with bottles of water, cans of soda and a heap of sandwiches.  

At first they’re all a bit hesitant but when one of them shrugs and grabs a can and a sandwich, they all follow suit. Derek hadn’t even noticed he was hungry until now. 

He ends up standing next to ‘tall black guy’. After a while of the both of them quietly chewing on their sandwiches Derek sticks out his hand. “Hey, I’m Derek.”

"Boyd"

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

They fall back into a comfortable silence and Derek decides he likes Boyd. 

A couple of feet in front of them ‘Curly blonde’ introduces himself to Jackson as Isaac.

"I don’t care," Jackass says loudly. "I’m not here to make friends with a bunch of amateurs."

Isaac rolls his eyes and Derek snorts.

"It’s a strategy." A guy to his left says.

Derek looks over at him. “What? Being an asshole?”

"Yeah. It’s not just the judges who decide who gets to stay or go. The producers of the show have a huge influence too. If someone makes for good television…" The guy shrugs. "I’m Danny by the way."

They shake hands. “Derek”

Boyd and Danny do the same.

"So do  _you_  have a strategy?” Boyd asks Danny.

Danny shrugs again and then gives them an infectious grin. “I’m likable.”

It’s true too. Derek has known Danny for seconds and he can already tell he’s a nice guy.

He’d thought this was all just going to be about pictures, which is hard enough, but if ‘personality’ plays such a big role…” _I’m_  fucked,” he says morosely.

Boyd and Danny laugh at him and when Boyd clasps a hand on his shoulder Derek can’t help but grin too. He might not be going through to the next round, but with these guys around today is turning out better than he expected.

It takes an hour before one of them is called to go meet with the judges.

Derek expects the guy back within a couple of minutes, because he’s seen these ‘interviews’ before and they’re always really short.

10 minutes later though, he’s still not back yet and one of the assistants hurries in and calls out another name. Isaac Lahey. Curly gets up, gives them a nervous little wave and follows her.

From then on, every ten minutes another contestant is called and none of them ever return. Apparently they don’t want the guys who have already had their turn to tell the others what to expect.

Two and a half hours later both Boyd and Danny are long gone and Derek wishes the producers had been thoughtful enough to at least provide some magazines or a television, or hell, even a radio would have helped.

The doors opens again and it takes him a second to realize that this time it’s  _his_  name being called. Adrenaline courses through his veins as he gets up and he takes a deep shaky breath before walking out of the relative safety of the waiting room. 

He follows the woman through a hallway, marvels at how fast she moves on her freakily high heels, and nearly bumps in to her when she suddenly stops.  

"Alright," she says, pointing at a doorway a couple of feet in front of them, "walk in there, greet the judges, state your name, age and where you’re from and answer their questions. Be concise. Now go."

She gives him a little shove and he feels nauseous as he walks out into a fairly large room with four cameramen milling about. 

The judges are seated behind a large desk at the opposite side of the room and he walks towards them. “Hi,” he croaks and he has to clear his throat before he can continue, “I’m Derek Hale, I’m 26 years old, and I’m from Beacon Hills, California.”

Before the judges even say anything, a guy who he hadn’t noticed before because he was standing off to the side speaks up. “Alright, try that again, walk a little faster, don’t look at the camera’s this time and for god’s sake try not to look as if you’re going to the dentist for a root canal.” 

Derek hesitates just a second, because he wasn’t expecting it to be like this at all. One of the judges, it has to be this Stilinski guy, makes a shooing motion, and Derek hurries back to the hallway he came from. 

He has no idea how long to wait and gives the assistant who is still standing there a questioning look. 

She holds up her hand for a moment and then gives him a nod and he walks out again, more determined and confident this time. He only looks straight at the judges and tries not to frown. “Hi, I’m Derek Hale, I’m 26 years old and I’m from Beacon Hills, California.”

"Hi Derek," Tyra says, "so…why are _you_ America’s next male top model?" 

"Because I’m a hard worker and I learn quickly."

"Dude," Stilinski says, "what kind of an answer is that? You’re not applying for a job at a supermarket."

It’s the answer they came up with while he and Cora were practicing for this exact thing. Except that’s not entirely true. Cora wanted him to to say something cocky along the lines of ‘because I’m incredibly photogenic and I really want this so I’m absolutely determined to beat everyone else’. 

He probably should have gone with her suggestion because now he has no idea what to say and the longer the silence lasts the more flustered he gets because it’s all being filmed. 

"I uh-"

"Why do you think you should be America’s next male top model?" Tyra asks again in a tone as if she didn’t ask the exact same question half a minute ago. 

"I don’t know if I should be America’s next top model,  _you’re_  the experts, the other guys look good, better than me probably.” He blurts it out before he can stop himself and it’s exactly what Cora told him not to do.

'Whatever you do, don't tell the truth' she told him. _Fake it till you make it._ “I'm photogenic and I really want this.” It comes out sounding like a question. 

Stilinski snorts and Derek feel a blush rising to his face. The young model, Jansen, just looks at him with pity, while Tyra isn’t even looking at him at all. She’s having some sort of silent conversation with the director/producer whatever the hell he is who is still standing off to the side. She turns back to him. “Say that again with more confidence.”

He turns around and starts back toward the hallway.

"Where are you going?" Tyra says, sounding amused.

"Shouldn’t I start again?" He asks because he certainly fucked up the first two tries.

"Such innocence," Stilinski says, "we’re not filming a movie dude. Just say the words and they’ll get what they need."

And suddenly Derek realizes that they’ll take everything he’s said and done so far and edit it together in a way that’s most amusing to the viewers of the show. “I’m going to look like a complete idiot, aren’t I?”

It’s miss J who speaks up now. “Oh honey, you certainly will if you keep giving them opportunities like this.”

Somehow the way he says it startles Derek into a laugh and suddenly Laura’s words come back to him. He doesn’t have his heart set on a modelling career , his family is proud he even made it this far, and it’s no big deal if he goes home early. On a whim he puts on a straight face and says “I’m Derek Hale, 26 years old, from Beacon Hills California, and I’m going to be America’s next top model because I’m incredibly photogenic and I’m just that good.” He manages to get the words out with total conviction before he cracks and snorts with laughter. 

"What’s your best feature?" Jansen asks. 

"My eyes." He’s pretty sure about that one, because Cora always wants to make close ups of them and mutters about his stupid eyes and why did _he_ have to win the genetic lottery. 

"And your worst?" Stilinski asks. 

He has a short moment of panic because how did he and Cora not anticipate  _that_  question. “I’ve got bunny teeth,” he finally says and lifts his lips up into a huge grin to show them. Right after he does it he realizes he probably should have said something along the lines of not having any weak points.  That’s what Jackass would have done. 

"Alright, thank you Derek. Good luck!"

He walks out of the room feeling relieved and that strange sort of giddy you get when everything goes wrong but you just can’t be bothered to care anymore.

The assistant guides him back down the hallway he came from, but past the door of the waiting room. In fact she walks him all the way to the entrance of the building. “You’re done for today. You can go back to your hotel room now,” she says, pointing to the hotel just some fifty yards down the road where all the contestants have been put up. “Tomorrow morning at eight AM you need to be back here. Wear the same clothes. The hotel has a washing service if necessary.”

And with that, she’s gone.

Derek wonders if he’s allowed to go for a walk first and grab a burger somewhere because he’s really fucking hungry all of a sudden, but he already sees someone waving at him in front of the entrance of the hotel.

For a moment he debates pretending he didn’t see and walking the other way but now is probably not the time to piss these people off. 

The woman in front of the hotel shakes his hand. “Hi, I’m Amanda, what’s your room number?”

"Derek," he answers and he digs the key-card he was given that morning out of his pocket. "106"

"Alright" They enter the hotel and walk towards the staircase. "We’d prefer it if you didn't interact with the other contestants off camera. We want your interactions to be as genuine as possible and that includes those ‘getting to know each other’ moments. To the viewers you’re all strangers to each other at first so we’d prefer it if you kept it that way until the camera’s are rolling. I’m sure you understand?"

She sounds bored, like she’s given the same speech countless times before. Derek supposed she has.

"Interaction isn't  _forbidden_  of course,” she continues as they climb up the stairs, “I mean, who are we to forbid two people talking to each other, right?” She lets out a nervous giggle. “But I should tell you that the producers are staying at the same hotel and it might make a bad impression on them if you’re not willing to follow this simple request…”

_Right_ , Derek resists the urge to roll his eyes. You don’t  _have_  to obey, but if you don’t you won’t make it far in the competition…message received.

Amanda seems to be waiting for some kind of affirmation so he gives her a nod.

"Alright, in your room you’ll find a menu with three meals you can choose from, one is vegetarian, and you can just call room service and they’ll bring it up."

They've reached the door to his room and she smiles brightly at him, until the silence gets awkward. “Have a good night!”She suddenly tells him before turning around and hurrying back down the hallway.

The room is small but nicely decorated. On the desk he finds the menu she mentioned and he orders the chicken and vegetable stir-fry. After dinner he takes a long shower to wash away the stress of the day and then he calls his mom.

"Hi honey, how are you holding up?"

"It’s okay. Met some nice guys today."

"That’s good. Maybe you’ll walk away from this with some new friends."

She doesn't say that he could use some friends, but that’s what he hears anyway. 

"So, did you scope out the competition?" she asks him.

"Yeah, I probably won’t make it into the house, they’re all really good-looking and some of them are really good at the posing thing too."

"The important thing is you tried honey, and there were thousands of applicants so you already made it really far. And don’t sell yourself short, I hate to brag, but you kind of won the genetic lottery."

Derek snorts. “Have you and Cora been talking again.”

"Of course we have, but that doesn't make it any less true."

He rolls his eyes. “Mom….”

"Yeah yeah, just remember, it doesn't matter if you get any further into the competition. I’m really proud of you for getting out of your comfort zone and  _trying_  okay?”

Derek swallows thickly because it suddenly feels like something is stuck in his throat. “Okay… Listen mom, I’m not sure when I can call again. They’re taking our phones tomorrow morning and if by some chance I do make it into the house, even when I get eliminated really early I won’t be able to go straight home because they’ll keep us at the hotel until the other contestants go abroad.”

"Oh, okay, well just call when you get a chance. You gave our numbers as emergency contacts right?"

"Yeah"

"Good. We love you honey, good luck and remember we’re proud of you no matter what."

"Thanks mom, tell everyone I love them."

After he hangs up he feels some of the nervous tension he’s been holding all day drift away.

His mom has that effect on him.

 

* * *

 

I'm on tumblr [here](http://panda-pounce.tumblr.com/).


	3. Chapter 3

When his phone starts its ridiculously happy chime he feels like throwing it out the window, because despite feeling better after his conversation with his mom, he still had trouble falling asleep.

He tried to tell himself that he won’t care if he looks stupid on national television. But the truth is, he does care, and he’s really annoyed about it because he shouldn’t.

His family won’t love him any less and that’s the only thing that matters. It’s the one certainty he has because if they managed to keep loving him during his last period of monumental stupidity, they’ll love him through this too.

He shakes his head and tries to clear his mind. He’s not going to think about the past right now. He’s moving forward.

One shower and a breakfast later he finds himself walking back to the building where they’ll face another day of being followed by cameras and talking to judges and whatnot.

A couple of feet in front of him walks another contestant, and he hears someone walking behind him too, but they all walk in quiet procession, trying not to piss off any producers who might be watching them.

Once inside they’re quickly scooped up by one of the countless assistants and brought to another large room to wait. There are cameramen milling about so some of the potential models take that as permission to start chatting with each other.

Derek looks around for Boyd, Danny and Isaac and when he spots them he tries to unobtrusively make his way over to them. When he sees one of the cameramen turn towards him he speeds up and half jogs towards his somewhat friends. “Hi”

“Hey Derek,” Danny says, “sleep well?”

He shakes his head. “You?”

“Me neither man, I think none of us did.”

“I slept like a baby” an obnoxious voice says behind Derek.

He doesn’t even have to turn around to know it’s Jackson.

“You sound like one too.” Isaac mutters.

“What did you say?!” Jackson says with a snarl. He takes an aggressive step towards Isaac who flinches back and before Derek even realizes he’s going to, he steps in between them. Jackson tries to shove him away, but Derek doesn’t move an inch. “Let it go.” He tells Jackson. 

“Yeah man,” Danny says, “they may like ‘em bitchy, but I’m pretty sure they won’t like it if it goes beyond that.”

Derek can see the wheels turning in Jackson’s head, and then the guy shrugs and steps away. “It’s not worth the effort, you’ll all be going home today anyway.” He gives Derek a last withering look. “Especially you, have you ever even opened a fashion magazine?”

Jackson doesn’t wait for an answer. He just turns and walks away. 

Derek turns back to the other guys and tries to ignore the fact that Jackson’s remark caused an embarrassed flush to rise to his face.

The silence that follows is awkward…until Boyd breaks it. “Does he think we’re still in high school?”

They all laugh. 

“You don’t have anything to worry about.” Isaac tells Derek with a grin. “The judges love 'diamonds in the rough’ and your face will definitely get you into the house. Once the challenges begin you’ll have the posing thing down in no time.”

Derek’s not sure how to feel. Good about the fact that Isaac thinks he’ll get into the house, or embarrassed that he too noticed Derek’s crappy attempt at posing. 

“If it’s up to the judges I’m pretty sure I’m going home. I made a complete ass out of myself at the interview…and I don’t think that Stilinski guy likes me.”

“Nah, I think that’s just his personality,” Danny tries to reassure him, “he’s just one of those people, you know.”

Problem is, Derek doesn’t _know_. His people skills are, well, calling them rusty would be a massive understatement. He had more interaction with his peers in one year of high school than he did in four years of college combined. 

Kate made sure of that.

A poke to his side startles him out of his thoughts. 

“Hey, you okay?” Isaac gives him a small smile and doesn’t wait for his answer. “You’re going to do just fine.  Don’t worry so much. Come one, I think we’re supposed to follow." 

Their little group of somewhat friends follows the herd of other contestants. They’re led through a hallway and into a larger room that has a long runway in the middle of it. Once everyone is inside and standing alongside the runway, the lights turn off.

Two seconds later a spotlight illuminates a single figure standing at the beginning of the runway. 

It’s miss J. 

A simple tune starts playing and Miss J starts walking. 

Derek marvels at how different this 'men’s walk’ is to 'women’s walk’ he, or should he use she?, showed on earlier shows. It’s seems kind of unfair that men can get away with a simple straightforward stroll when women have to have ridiculous signature walks.

He’s still pondering the unfairness of it when he hears, "Alright boys, your turn”.

Derek promptly forgets how to walk and stumbles as the line of men starts moving towards the beginning of the runway. 

The guy in front of him, whose heels he accidentally steps on, turns to give him a glare and Derek mumbles an awkward “Sorry”. 

Jackson looks back and snorts derisively. 

At least this time Derek’s not the very first in line and he has the chance to see a bunch of other guys walk first, and more importantly, he hears miss J call out instructions. 

“Posture!”

“Stop flailing your arms”

“Back straight”

“You walk like a robot, relax your arms.”

“Tone down the swagger.” That one is directed at Jackson and at least half of the contestants laugh.

And then suddenly, it’s Derek’s turn. As he starts walking he tries to imagine he’s got a purpose on the other end of the runway. Like he’s in the supermarket and the peanut butter is right at the end of this aisle.

“Not bad.” Miss J says.

Derek cheers inside.

“But try not to look as if you want to kill the spectators.”

Derek assumes they’re done after everyone has had a turn walking down the runway. 

He’s wrong. Apparently they want more footage. 

More footage of people fucking up probably. It’s becoming more and more clear that the actual America’s Next Top Model contest is nothing like what they show on TV.

While on TV it all seems so fast-paced and spontaneous, in real life it’s a lot of waiting and doing the same thing four times in a row so the camera’s have a chance to capture everything. 

After his fourth walk down the runway Derek is relieved when they’re told they’re done. He managed to get through it all unscathed… unlike Isaac who stumbled going up the steps unto the runway on his third run.

Then it’s back to a waiting room.

Derek is fully prepared to be stuck there for an hour or more, so it’s a surprise when after only ten minutes an assistant comes in.

“Listen up everybody.” She says sternly. “In a minute you’re going to follow me into another room. Tyra is going to give a little speech, and on the wall behind her there will be 12 pictures, covered with sheets. And when she says go…you all rush to the wall and pull the sheets off. Your picture is on that wall? Congratulations you’ve made it into the house… If not, you’re welcome to audition again next year. Do _not_ make a scene, do _not_ try to convince Tyra there’s been a mistake and your picture ought to be up there.  Also, however pissed you are about not being chosen, we _strongly_ advise you not to go and talk to the press once you leave here. You _will_ be sued and it will cost you a lot of money. Understood?”

She waits a couple of seconds, probably to let that last part sink in.

“Alright. Follow me, and look exited.”

Next to Derek Isaac rubs a hand over his face and mumbles, “Jesus, already?”

Derek echoes the sentiment. They only just did the runway thing, he thought there’d be more time…that the judges would need to get together and discuss and- It slowly starts to hit home that the decision about who would get into the house was probably made yesterday, if not already during the interviews with the producers.

His heart is in his throat as they follow the woman to the other room.

Tyra is there already, and she basically tells the same story the assistant did, only with a lot more enthusiasm and without the part about the ones who lose. 

And then they’re _finally_ allowed to see who’s through to the next round.

The other contestants rush at the wall and within seconds all the sheets are down and everyone’s looking to see if they can spot their own face among the lucky ones.

Boyd’s face is the first one Derek sees and he can’t help but grin widely. Because whether or not he’s gotten in himself, he’s really pleased that Boyd has.

The next one he sees has Jackson’s cocky face on it, which is no big surprise but still has him grinding his teeth a little. As he walks along the wall he spots the long-haired red-head, dreadlocks guy, and really tall buzz-cut guy…and then the next picture shows Danny. Even his picture looks likable. 

And right next to Danny hangs _Isaac_.

Derek is smiling like a loon at Isaac’s picture when the real Isaac grabs his arm and drags him to the other end of the wall. 

There, from the very last picture frame, his own face is staring back at him. 

_He got in_.

\-----------------------------

The ‘winners’, the ones who are through, are loaded unto a bus, camera’s recording their every move and Derek tries not to twitch or stare into the camera when one of the cameramen comes uncomfortably close. 

Around him his fellow contestants are chattering excitedly, even Boyd seems way more animated than usual as he talks to Danny. Derek doesn’t join in though, can’t even concentrate enough to keep up with the conversation. His mind is a jumble of thoughts and he’s having trouble untangling them. 

He’s happy. At least he thinks he is. 

He _should_ be.

He’s surprised, and a little suspicious too, like any moment the bus could stop and he’d be told there’s been a mistake and the blond guy with the icy blue eyes and the almost white eyebrows was supposed to be on the bus, not Derek.

Mostly he’s thinking about the fact that it’ll be at least four weeks now before he’s allowed to go home. No matter if he’s eliminated at the very first challenge, he’ll have to stay at the hotel until the other participants go abroad. It leaves him with a churning feeling in his gut that he can’t seem to shake.

After a small tour around the block that doesn’t take more than ten minutes at the most, the bus stops in front of their hotel again and Derek has a moment of absolute certainty that they’ve all been duped. 

“Alright people,” they’re told by the driver. “Get out and go get your luggage, you’re expected back here in fifteen minutes”.

Right. Luggage. He’d forgotten all about that. 

They all get out, most of them still talking animatedly, and rush into the hotel. It’s a weird feeling of relief when Derek pulls the door of his room closed behind him. Just for a moment there’s peace and quiet and he kind of just wants to sit on the bed and ignore the outside world until it goes away. 

He knows he can’t though… so he haphazardly shoves his stuff into his bag, drinks a glass of water, squares his shoulders, and walks out faking a smile. 

******

The model house is ridiculous. There’s a freaking indoor pool  _and_  a jacuzzi. Apparently they wanted to provide plenty of opportunities for people to get naked.  

Derek deliberately stays really close to Boyd when they’re allowed to look around and as soon as he sees Boyd lift his arm to drop his bag on one of the available beds, Derek throws his own at the one next to it.  He’s seen the show, thank you very much.

Isaac snags the bed next to Derek’s and that fills up their room. They all open their bags and put some of their stuff on the nightstand and in the closet to make it absolutely clear they’ve claimed their territory. Only then do they move on to get a good look at the rest of the house. 

As it turns out, Danny wasn’t as lucky, he winded up having to share with  _Jackson_. 

Derek feels for him, but not enough to trade.

He expected that to be it for the rest of the day. Instead, twenty minutes after unpacking they’re directed to ‘discover’ an envelop from Tyra. 

It says they’re expected bright and early the next morning for their first challenge and then some cryptic shit about not being a worrier. 

‘The next morning’ turns out to be half an hour after they get the envelope and ‘worrier’ turns out to be warrior. 

*******

As first challenges go, Derek thinks maybe he lucked out. They need to look ‘fierce’…and although he has no idea what that means exactly, he’s fairly optimistic that looking angry will do the trick.

And if there’s one thing Derek knows he’s good at, it’s looking like he wants to murder somebody.

A nice lady, who babbles mindlessly at him, applies mascara and eyeliner, which feels weird, and then smears dark stripes of soot across his cheeks. Another lady wraps some kind of majorly unpractical leather harness around his chest and arms and they give him a freaking skirt to wear that consists of studded flaps of leather. 

He feels like some kind of video game fantasy warrior, and he looks like an idiot. But then so do most of the others. 

They put Boyd in what amounts to a chainmail dress with furry boots and a helmet. So Derek considers himself lucky.

Before long his name is being called. 

_Awkward_. That’s how he feels, standing there in bright lights holding a spear with a dull point and pointing it at the camera. He does his best to fake movement. Bends back like he’s really about to throw the spear at the camera, and the man behind it is making at least vaguely positive sounds. 

It’s over before he knows it. Literally. He’s still trying to come up with another pose when the cameraman tells him “Hey man, you’re done.” 

When he looks to the side, Jackson is standing there in a Robin Hood like outfit that actually looks really cool. _goddamnit_.

“Yeah Hale,” the blonde says with a smirk, “you’re done.”

Derek rolls his eyes and ambles back to the wardrobe area. Danny’s there too, being helped out of his ninja suit. How the hell anyone is supposed to model with at least half of their face covered in black cloth, Derek has no idea. 

“How did it go?” He asks Danny. 

“I don’t know man, I tried to do my thing, but they didn’t really give me much to work with you know.” He waves at the loose black ninja suit that’s now hanging around his waist. “Would kind of suck to go home because of a photoshoot where they can’t even see like 90 percent of me.”

“You’re not going home.” Derek tries to reassure him. “They’ll get rid of me before they get rid of you for sure, so you’re safe for at least one more round.”

 “Wish they’d get rid of Jackson first.” Danny mutters softly. 

But they both know that’s not going to happen, because they can hear Jackson’s shoot and the photographer sounds damn near orgasmic.

*******

The first night in the model house Derek hardly sleeps.  It’s frustrating, not only because he’s really freaking tired, but also because he can’t afford to look like crap. Not when he’s in a competition that’s all about looks.

Then again, it’s entirely possible…likely even…that his first real photo-shoot was enough to get him sent home.

He expects the next day to bring the first elimination, but while they do get another message from Tyra, it’s another challenge instead of an ominous warning about being sent home. 

After breakfast they’re whisked away on a bus and taken to a really large office building. It’s got to have at least 30 floors. For a moment he thinks they’re going to make them walk up the stairs all the way to the top as some kind of freakish fitness challenge, but thankfully they’re simply ushered to the elevators.

The view from the top floor of the building is absolutely breathtaking. Literally, for some of his fellow contestants, and Derek is suddenly profoundly grateful he’s not afraid of heights. 

Of course it’s too much to ask for Jackson to be one of the guys with acrophobia…instead he’s the one laughing at the guys who are too scared to go out onto the ledge where they want to take the pictures.

This time they’re all put in very expensive looking suits and Derek’s hair is slicked back the way he wears it when his parents guilt him into attending one of those dinner parties with their colleagues.

He looks good, he thinks, and he tries to channel that little confidence boost into his posture and expression. He’s a confident businessman. 

A successful, wealthy, man of the world. 

Not a librarian with a tiny apartment who has no social life outside of his family.

How do the guys in those Boss perfume adds stand again? Suddenly he can’t remember. So he just stands tall, looks at the camera intensely and tries to give a small ‘I know something you don’t know’ smirk. He crosses his arms, uncrosses them, puts them behind his back, then tries to put a hand in his pocket which doesn’t really work because the pants are a little too tight.  He raises one hand and slides it through his hair… It leaves him with gel on his hand and an urge to roll his eyes at his own corny move, and then his time is up.

The other contestants take their turn and Derek knows he should probably look at them and try to learn at least something about posing, but he’s pretty sure he’s going home anyway and the view really is beautiful so he spends most of his time staring out at the cityscape until the shoot is over and they’re all ushered down and back into the bus.  

When they get back there’s another envelop waiting and his time it _is_  an elimination. The directors make several people read it out loud. Not him though, for which he’s eminently grateful. 

“Well,” Danny says, “If one of us is going home tomorrow, this seems like a good time to make use of the Jacuzzi, right?” 

So that’s what they do. They sit in the Jacuzzi  and drink a beer and pretend they’re not nervous for what the next day is going to bring. 

————

It’s nerve-wrecking to stand in front of the judges and have to wait until your name is called.  On the one hand, he wants it over with, and on the other he’s relieved whenever they call someone else’s name.  

Eight people go before him. With eight beautiful pictures. And then it’s finally his turn. A large screen to the side shows his picture and he winces automatically, blood rushes to his face and warms his ears. 

The outfit is still as ridiculous as when they made him put it on, but he does look murderous and like he’s really about to chuck the spear at whoever is watching the photo. So that’s good. _Maybe_. 

“Wow…” Stilinski says, and Derek feels a flare of hope, “whoever designed this costume has played too many weird orpg’s.”

Derek feels his blush intensify.

“’s hot though” Stilinski adds after a moment.

 Tyra nods along. “You look very fierce, almost a little too fierce. Remember not to get so absorbed in the character you’re portraying that you forget to model.”

He nods dumbly at their comments and then he’s allowed to step back. 

When everyone has had their turn they’re told to leave the room and not two minutes later they’re called back in. Tara stands in the traditional spot holding a whole bunch of pictures. 

And then she proceeds to call Jackson’s name first. “Jackson, you’re still in the running towards becoming America’s Next Male Top Model”. 

Derek’s swears he hears several sets of teeth grinding angrily around him. What’s-his-name, the redhead, gets called second, followed by Boyd and then Isaac. Derek grins at them widely when they’ve taken their places on the right side of the room. 

More names follow, including Danny, and then, totally unexpected, the seventh name is Derek’s.

He’s actually gotten through to the next round. 

For just a second too long he stands there gaping at Tyra and then he nearly trips over his own feet as he walks towards her to receive his picture. Boyd, Isaac and Danny slap him on the back and Derek feels the first frisson of real excitement. Maybe he actually _can_ do this. 

He’s so absorbed in his own thoughts that the rest of the judging goes by without him actually paying attention to any of it. He automatically hugs ‘short with spiky hair’ when he comes to say goodbye, but he’s a little bit ashamed to admit he didn’t even get his name.  

The excitement lasts until they’re told to go back to the model house, which is across the street, change their clothes and come straight back. Apparently, they do two judging’s in a row. 

Totally unfair, everyone agrees, because how are you supposed to use the judges’s critiques when you don’t even get them before the damn photo shoot?

At least he got through the first round, Derek reminds himself.  He can go home with his head held high. Not only did he make it through the auditions, but he survived the first round as well, so it won’t even look as if him being on the show was some kind of monumental mistake that they corrected the earliest chance they had.  

Maybe it’s even for the best if he gets send home now. Gives him less of a chance to make a complete fool out of himself.  

*****

The second judging isn’t any less nerve wracking than the first. He’s up fourth this time and his picture looks…good…a little angry maybe. He thought for sure he was smiling or smirking in most of his pictures, but his mouth is a straight line and he just looks like he’s going to buy some poor guys family business and fire all the old and loyal employees. 

If this is what he looks like when he thinks he’s smiling, no wonder Cora likes to compare him to grumpy cat.

“Well, there’s no question you look handsome,” the model judge, Mariska something, says, “but this is very much like your picture from the last challenge and I’m wondering whether you’re able to show other emotions.”

“Modelling is all about being versatile,” Tyra chips in. “A model who only has one ‘face’ doesn’t get very far.”

“I do think it’s a good picture though.” Miss J says. A salve for the massive burn Derek’s getting.  

Stilinski doesn’t say anything. Just stares at him with a slightly tilted head and a thoughtful expression that makes him want to go hide behind his fellow contestants.

Finally he’s allowed t do exactly that. 

When everyone has had their turn they’re send out and called back in once more, and Tyra starts calling out the names of those who are through to the next round. 

Derek tries very hard not to care.

The redhead, George, is called first this time. Good for him. At least it’s not Jackson. Boyd is second, which is awesome. In fact Jackson is only called fifth and Derek can see him seething with frustration. It’s glorious.

Isaac’s next. And then the seventh, eight and ninth name are called. He’s in the bottom two. Together with really tall buzz-cut guy. 

“Will you two please step forward?” Tyra asks them. 

This is it. He’s going home. 

“I have two very attractive men standing before me,” she starts, “but looks alone aren’t enough in this business. You have to be aware of your body,” she looks at buzz-cut guy, “and of your face,” she says, looking at Derek. So which one of you will go home? And which one will stay?”

The seconds seem to drag on like hours. 

“Derek”

_What?_     

“The judges have decided to give you another chance to show us you can portray more than one emotion. You need to step it up or the next judging will be your last.”

********

Two days go by, and Derek finds himself at the next challenge. 

He’s been swinging wildly between a strange form of acceptance, where he’s at peace with being the next one to be sent home, and being so anxious it almost makes him feel physically sick. 

He thinks it would have been easier if _he’d_ been the one sent home at the last judging. Being given another chance should be a positive thing, but somehow the more chances he’s given to get something right, the worse he feels when he just… _can’t_. 

This time there aren’t even any ridiculous props or outfits to divert the attention from his face. They’ve all been put in loose dark pants, upper bodies bare, and the setting is some kind of factory warehouse. Very minimalist.

That’s not the worst thing though. No, the worst thing is that, this time around, their photographer is Stiles Stilinski himself. 

It’s one thing to look like an idiot in front of someone he doesn’t know and will never see again…it’s an entirely different thing when he’s going to look like an idiot in front of the man who’ll also be critiquing his photo at the next judging. 

A man who, as he’s come to learn, is famous the world over for his photography books featuring mostly semi-nude men and women. And apparently Stilinski also did the photography for a couple of add campaigns for some very well known and expensive brands…brands like Gucci and Chanel. Or so Tyra said. 

And here comes Derek, fumbling like the idiot amateur that he is. 

His family won’t care. He tells himself. They _won’t_. They’ll still love him. That’s all he needs.  He just needs to get through this, live down the humiliation, and then he can get back to the safety of his little apartment in Beacon Hills and his simple job at the library.

He refuses to think about who else, besides his family, might watch his humiliation. 

“Alright. You’re up.” Someone tells him, and Derek stumbles onto the set. He can feel the fucking frown of his face, the tight set of his lips. He may as well quit right now, because there’s just no way he’ll manage anything other than ‘angry face’ when he’s this tightly coiled. 

“Hey there,” Stilinksi says, “We haven’t really been introduced, have we? Or maybe we have, with the interviews and and Tyra’s introduction speech and all, but lets do this the traditional way.” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Stiles.”

Derek surreptitiously wipes his sweaty hand on his pants before shaking Stiles’ hand. “Derek”

“Right. So, Derek, let’s get this show on the road.” Stiles fiddles a little with the lighting but keeps talking at the same time. “I’ve noticed that being in front of a camera is not exactly your natural habitat, but no worries. Unlikely though it seems with a name like mine, I _am_ actually pretty damn good at what I do, so you just do as I say and all will be well, my grumpy-looking friend. Easy peasy”

It’s not easy peasy. Doing as Stiles says turns out to be pretty damn difficult. Mostly because he says a lot of things. In very quick succession. 

“Move your upper body forward a little, now put your arm back.  No your other arm, yes like that, just a little higher. Now, doesn’t that feel good? Alright, that’s enough stretching for today. Let’s get to the actual posing. Did you know that the oldest documented evidence of male circumcision comes from ancient Egypt?”

_What?_  

And so it goes on. Derek tries, really, really tries to find some form of direction in the endless waterfall of words that pours from Stiles mouth. But it’s a lost cause. 

“Put you left arm out, knees bent, arch your back a little, grab the wall, now _wriggle_. Or don’t. You should eat cookies.”

Derek blinks, moves forward a little and makes a vague grab at the wall, but he’s just…lost.

And then it’s all over. 

Stiles lowers his camera. “Alrighty then.  You’re all done.  That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” He gives Derek a pat on his arm. “Good job.”

That’s when Derek realizes it’s truly over now. If Stiles won’t even waste his time giving him an honest critique…

And as if his day hasn’t been bad enough, there’s another envelop waiting for them at the house and this time they make _Derek_ read it. He has to clear his throat twice. “Tomorrow you will meet with the judges and one of you will be eliminated…”

He’s not sure what to expect. They never are, in the model house. Will there be another challenge first, like the last time? Or will there really be an elimination tomorrow?

Turns out that yes, there’s a judging. And Derek actually feels relieved. At least he won’t have to go through another humiliating photoshoot.

**** 

Once they’re all standing there, waiting to be judged, Derek has a hard time looking at Stiles, and when he finally does Stiles is sporting a wicked grin.

“Boyd, please step forward.” Tyra says. 

Boyd’s picture looks really good.  Like ridiculously good. Something about the way the light falls on him and the slight twist of his body just makes for a really gorgeous picture. 

The judges agree, and Derek is glad that at least one of his new friends is having a good day. 

Seven pictures later it’s Derek’s turn and he forces himself to walk forward. He’s _really_ not looking forward to the harsh critique he’s inevitably going to get. 

But when his picture comes up on the big screen, it’s nothing like he expected. He’s looking in the direction of the camera, but not directly at it, wide eyed and with his mouth relaxed, slightly open even. He looks helpless, vulnerable…

Tyra loves it.  

When the elimination part of it starts Derek is still reeling from the glowing review. 

“Ten handsome men stand before me.” Tyra says, “But unfortunately I only have nine photo’s in my hands. And those nine photos represent the men who will still be in the running towards becoming America’s Next Male Top Model.” 

She lets the tension build up a little before continuing. “The first picture in my hands…is Derek.”

Derek stays right where he is, too shocked to react, until Isaac gives him a small but firm shove. 

“Thank you, I- Thanks” he stammers, as he takes the picture. And when he glances past Tyra to the other judges, Stiles winks at him with a satisfied grin.


End file.
